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Out for a drive tonight I noticed 2 new buildings being built just north of the Staples on King St N in Waterloo. To be precise, they are occupying the South East corner of King St N and Northland Rd. One of the buildings advertised it would be a Beer Store.

I wasn't aware this was under construction. They buildings are to the point of the construction that the walls are being closed in and the roof is on.

This strikes me as a weird location for a beer store. Are they bailing out on their Albert St location like the Shoppers Drug Mart has or will this be a new location?

_____________________________________I used to be the mayor of sim city. I know what I am talking about.

I've heard rumours that the LCBO will be moving from King & Northfield to that new development at Northfield & Weber. Not sure if the Beer Store is shutting down its Parkdale Plaza location, but LCBO did years ago when they opened up at King & Northfield.

By happenstance, that would be a convenient location for me, too, but I hope the Beer Store doesn't leave the Parkdale Plaza. That spot is walkable for at least some people- Northland, for pretty much no one.

The Beer Store is privately owned, so obviously can do whatever it wants, same as Shoppers. It would be nice to see them try to preserve locations in places where amenities are few, but I know that’s not one of their considerations.

LCBO, I think, as a publically-owned corporation, should try to locate in areas where people can access them on foot or bike or transit. In many communities, the LCBO behaves just like any other business, and has left established neighbourhoods for big box locations inaccessible to anyone not in a car. That’s fine for a private company, but not for a publically-owned monopoly.

(03-30-2016, 09:41 AM)MidTowner Wrote: By happenstance, that would be a convenient location for me, too, but I hope the Beer Store doesn't leave the Parkdale Plaza. That spot is walkable for at least some people- Northland, for pretty much no one.

I seriously doubt any one walks to the Beer store. The LCBO is a different story since one can buy a bottle of wine, but beer being mostly sold in 2-4s, who would walk home with that? I d however favour the Parkdale Plaza location because it's a shorter drive for many people.

(03-30-2016, 11:03 AM)BuildingScout Wrote: I seriously doubt any one walks to the Beer store. The LCBO is a different story since one can buy a bottle of wine, but beer being mostly sold in 2-4s, who would walk home with that? I d however favour the Parkdale Plaza location because it's a shorter drive for many people.

I walked a 24 of beer from the Parkdale plaza to my residence on the west side of UW. That was quite a trek. When I worked on Parkside Drive, I frequently saw (and once, notably, had to take emergency action to avoid) people walking beer home in the neighbourhood.

Walking beer home is no fun. It's heavy. Perhaps nobody who has a choice walks to the Beer Store. But there's a lot of people in the general vicinity of Parkdale plaza who don't have cars.

(03-30-2016, 11:03 AM)BuildingScout Wrote: I seriously doubt any one walks to the Beer store. The LCBO is a different story since one can buy a bottle of wine, but beer being mostly sold in 2-4s, who would walk home with that? I d however favour the Parkdale Plaza location because it's a shorter drive for many people.

I walked a 24 of beer from the Parkdale plaza to my residence on the west side of UW. That was quite a trek. When I worked on Parkside Drive, I frequently saw (and once, notably, had to take emergency action to avoid) people walking beer home in the neighbourhood.

Walking beer home is no fun. It's heavy. Perhaps nobody who has a choice walks to the Beer Store. But there's a lot of people in the general vicinity of Parkdale plaza who don't have cars.

I believe there are at least a few alcohol-delivery services that have been around for a while. I know a couple of my neighbours occasionally get beer delivered if they find they've run out and can no longer drive to get it.

Not in reply to you, MacBerry: I don't think it's right to suggest that nobody who has a choice walks to the Beer Store. Some people make different choices than others. Just because one person would never think of walking out to x store to buy y product, doesn't mean another wouldn't choose to do that. If a store is located on Albert, many people can choose to drive or bike or walk as they like. On Northland, you have no choice- you have to drive, or you can't go there.

There's already booze delivery services-- or at least there were back then. But they charge more money, which was a big deal for me at the time and I imagine is still a big deal for those walking customers who may have more time than money.

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